Economy of Asia
Encyclopedia
The economy of Asia comprises more than 4 billion people (60% of the world population
) living in 46 different states
. Six further states lie partly in Asia
, but are considered to belong to another region economically and politically. China
is the largest economy in Asia and the second largest economy in the world.
As in all world regions, the wealth of Asia differs widely between, and within, states. This is due to its vast size, meaning a huge range of differing cultures, environments, historical ties and government systems. The largest economies in Asia in terms of both nominal and PPP
gross domestic product
(GDP) are the People's Republic of China
, Japan
, India
, South Korea
and Indonesia
.
Wealth (if measured by GDP per capita
) is mostly concentrated in east Asia
n territories such as Hong Kong
, Japan
, South Korea
, Singapore
and Taiwan
, as well in oil rich Middle East
ern countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia
, Qatar
, United Arab Emirates
. Asia, with the exception of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, is currently undergoing rapid growth and industrialization spearheaded by China and India - the two fastest growing major economies in the world. While east Asian and southeast Asian countries generally rely on manufacturing and trade for growth, countries in the Middle East depend more on the production of commodities, principally oil
, for economic growth. Over the years, with rapid economic growth and large trade surplus
with the rest of the world, Asia has accumulated over US$4 trillion of foreign exchange reserves
- more than half of the world's total.
and India
alternated in being the largest economies in the world from 1 to 1800 A.D. China was a major economic power and attracted many to the east, and for many the legendary wealth and prosperity of the ancient culture of India personified Asia, attracting European commerce, exploration and colonialism. The accidental discovery of America by Columbus in search for India demonstrates this deep fascination. The Silk Road
became the main East-West trading route in the Asian hitherland while the Straits of Malacca stood as a major sea route.
, most of Asia was under colonial rule
. Only relatively few states managed to remain independent in the face of constant pressure exerted by European power. Such examples are China, Siam, and Japan.
Japan in particular managed to develop its economy due to a reformation in the 19th century. The reformation was comprehensive and is today known as the Meiji Restoration
. The Japanese economy continued to grow well into the 20th century and its economic growth created various shortages of resources essential to economic growth. As a result the Japanese expansion began with a great part of Korea
and China annexed, thus allowing the Japanese to secure strategic resources.
At the same time, Southeast Asia
was prospering due to trade and the introduction of various new technologies of that time. The volume of trade continued to increase with the opening of the Suez Canal
in the 1860s. Manila
had its gallion
or Manila galleon
wherein products from the Philippines
were traded to Europe. The Philippines was the first Asian country to trade with Latin America via Acapulco
. Tobacco, coconut, corn, and sugar trade was the most in demand during that time. Singapore
, founded in 1819, rose to prominence as trade between the east and the west increased at an incredible rate. The British
colony of Malaya
, now part of Malaysia, was the world's largest producer of tin
and rubber
. The Dutch East Indies
, now Indonesia, on the other hand, was known for its spices production. Both the British and the Dutch created their own trading companies to manage their trade flow in Asia. The British created the British East India Company
while the Dutch formed Dutch East India Company
. Both companies maintained trade monopolies of their respective colonies.
In 1908, crude oil was first discovered in Persia, modern day Iran. Afterwards, many oil fields were discovered and it was learnt later that the Mideast possesses the world's largest oil stocks. This made the rulers of the Arab nations very rich though the socioeconomic development in that region lagged behind.
In the early 1930s, the world underwent a global economic depression, today known as the Great Depression
. Asia was not spared, and suffered the same pain as Europe and the United States
. The volume of trade decreased dramatically all around Asia and indeed the world. With falling demand, prices of various goods starting to fall and further impoverished locals and foreigners alike. In 1941, Japan invaded Malaya
and thus began World War II in Asia.
and the other tigers Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong -- were economic successes, and the only successful economies outside of North America, Western Europe and Australia. The Philippines
from the post-World War II until the onset of the first People Power Revolution had the second largest economy in Asia. The Philippine economy during the mid-1980s was marked by stagnant growth as a result of political instability and incompetence of the succeeding Corazon Aquino government.
One of the most pronounced Asian economic phenomenons during this time, the Japanese post-war economic miracle
, greatly impacted the rest of the world. After World War II, under central guidance from the Japanese government, the entire economy was undergoing a remarkable restructuring. Close cooperation between the government, corporations and banks facilitated easy access to much-needed capital, and large conglomerates known as keiretsu
spurred horizontal
and vertical integration
across all industries, keeping out foreign competition. These policies, in addition to an abandonment of military spending, worked phenomenally well. Japanese corporations as a result exported and still export massive amounts of high quality products from "the Land of the Rising Sun".
Another amazing economic success story is that of South Korea's, also referred to as the Miracle on the Han River
. The country was left impoverished after the Korean War
, yet was able to recover at double digit percentiles. Many conglomerates, also known as Chaebols, such as Samsung
, LG
, Hyundai
, Kia
, SK
, and more grew tremendously during this period. South Korea
has now become the most wired country in the world.
Taiwan and Hong Kong experienced rapid growth up till the 1990s. Taiwan became, and still remains one of the main centers of consumer electronics R&D as well as manufacturing. However, unlike in Japan and South Korea, the bulk of Taiwan's economy is dependent on small to medium sized businesses. Hong Kong, on the other hand, experienced rapid growth in the financial sector due to liberal market policies, with many financial institutions setting up their Asian headquarters in Hong Kong. Till today, Hong Kong has been ranked as the world's freest economy for many years running, and it remains among one of the world's top 5 leading financial centers.
This period was also marked by military conflict. Wars driven by the Cold War
, notably in Vietnam and Afghanistan, wrecked the economies of these respective nations. When the Soviet Union
collapsed in 1990-91, many Central Asia
n states were cut free and were forced to adapt to pressure for democratic and economic change. Also, several of the USSR's allies lost valuable aid and funding.
, the Indian economy coupled with the Chinese economy to power Asia into being one of the hotspots for world trade. The Chinese economy was already booming under the economic measures undertaken by Deng Xiaoping
, in the 1980s, and continuing under Jiang Zemin
in the 1990s. In 2007, China's economic growth rate exceeded 11% while India's growth rate increased to around 9%. One of the factors was the sheer size of the population in this region.. Surprisingly, this size of population was considered as biggest reason for lack of growth of economy by both governmetns earlier and both countries have taken strong population control measures to improve their economy.
Meanwhile, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore emerged as the Four Asian Tigers with their GDPs growing well above 7% per year in the 1980s and the 1990s. Their economies were mainly driven by growing exports. The Philippines only began to open up its stagnated economy in the early 1990s. Vietnam's economy began to grow in 1995, shortly after the United States and Vietnam
restored economic and political ties.
Throughout the 1990s, the manufacturing ability and cheap labor markets in Asian developing nations allowed companies to establish themselves in many of the industries previously dominated by companies from developed nations. Asia became one of the largest sources of automobiles, machinery, audio equipment and other electronics
.
At the end of 1997, Thailand was hit by currency speculators
, and the value of the Baht
along with its annual growth rate fell dramatically. Soon after, the crisis spread to Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and many other Asian economies, resulting in great economic damage on the affected countries (Japan largely escaped the crisis). In fact, some of the economies, most notably those of Thailand, Indonesia, and South Korea actually contracted. This later would be known as the Asian financial crisis. By 1999, most countries had already recovered from the crisis.
In 2004, parts of Sumatra and South Asia were severely damaged by an earthquake and the subsequent tsunami
. The natural disaster wiped out huge amounts of infrastructure
throughout the affected area and displaced millions.
, and Vietnam have entered the path to long-term growth, regions right next to these countries are in severe need of assistance.
Given the large number cheap and amply available labor in the region, particularly in China and India, where large workforces provide an economical advantage over other countries, the rising standard of living will eventually lead to a slow-down. Asia is also riddled with political problems that threaten not just the economies, but the general stability of the region and world. The nuclear neighbors—Pakistan and India—constantly pose a threat to each other, causing their governments to heavily invest in military spending.
Military intervention by the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan has also inflamed extremism and resulted in several terrorist attacks in a number of Asian countries. Another impending crisis is the depletion of oil reserves
in the Middle East. Most of these economies have traditionally been over-dependent on oil and have had difficulty establishing another pillar in their economies.
Yet another potential global danger posed by the economy of Asia is the growing accumulation of foreign exchange reserves
. The countries/regions with the largest foreign reserves are mostly in Asia - China (Mainland - $2,454 billion & Hong Kong - $245 billion, June 2010), Japan ($1,019 billion, June 2009), Russia ($456 billion, April 2010), India ($284 billion, July 2010), Taiwan ($372 billion, September 2010), the Republic of Korea ($286 billion, July 2010), Singapore
($206 billion, July 2010). This increasingly means that the interchangeability of the Euro, USD, and GBP are heavily influenced by Asian central banks. Some economists in the western countries see this as a bad thing, prompting their respective governments to take action.
The economies of Asia are expected to be unequally divided for a long period of time. East Asian nations such as economic leaders China, Japan and South Korea will continue to flourish. Japanese products such as Sony
and Hitachi
are commanding premium prices in the western world
. South Korean conglomerates Samsung
and LG
are respectively the second and fifth largest in Asia in terms of annual revenues. These two rivaling countries are expected to be joined by new economic competitors such as China and India. On the other hand, the Middle East and a few parts of South East Asia will be in a state of trouble.
According to the World Bank
, China may become the largest economy in the world sometime between 2020 and 2030.
at market or government official exchange rates (nominal GDP) and PPP map is for year 2010.
2010 Nominal GDP and PPP list by the International Monetary Fund
(sortable; in billions of $US)
(APTA), formerly called the Bangkok Agreement, is the only trade agreement bringing together China and India, in addition to Bangladesh and the Republic of Korea, among others. The Secretariat of the agreement is provided by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). While the agreement covers only a limited number of products, members agreed in 2009 to implement a Trade Facilitation Framework Agreement aimed at streamlining trade procedures between members.
(APEC) is a group of Pacific Rim
countries who meet with the purpose of improving economic and political ties. Although the initial intention was to create a free trade area covering all membership (which includes China, the United States and Australia, among others) this has failed to materialize.
(ASEAN) is a political, economic, and cultural organization of countries located in Southeast Asia. Founded in 1967, its aim is to foster cooperation and mutual assistance among members. The countries meet annually every November in summits.
The current member countries of ASEAN are Myanmar
(Burma), Laos
, Thailand, Cambodia
, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Singapore, East Timor
and Indonesia. Papua New Guinea
is given an observer
status.
In 2005 ASEAN was instrumental in establishing the East Asia Summit
(involving all ASEAN members plus China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia
and New Zealand
) which some have proposed may become in the future a trade bloc, the arrangements for which are far from certain and not yet clear.
The Asian Currency Unit (ACU) is a proposed currency unit for the ASEAN "10+3" economic circle. (ASEAN, the mainland of the People's Republic of China, India, Japan, and South Korea).
(CEPA) is an economic agreement between the People's Republic of China, the Hong Kong SAR government (signed on 29 June 2003), and the Macau
SAR government (signed on 18 October 2003), in order to promote trade and investment facilitation.
The main aims of CEPA are to eliminate tariffs and non-tariff barrier on substantially all the trade in goods between the three, and achieve liberalization of trade in services through reduction or elimination of substantially all discriminatory measures.
is an association of Arab
countries in Africa and Asia. The Arab League
facilitates political, economic, cultural, scientific and social programs designed to promote the interests of its member states.
The Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS) is a confederation consisting of 12 of the 15 states of the former Soviet Union, both Asian and European (the exceptions being the three Baltic states
). Although the CIS has few supranational powers, it is more than a purely symbolic organization and possesses coordinating powers in the realm of trade, finance, lawmaking and security. The most significant issue for the CIS is the establishment of a full-fledged free trade zone / economic union between the member states, to be launched in 2005. It has also promoted cooperation on democratisation and cross-border crime prevention.
(SAARC) is an association of eight countries of South Asia, namely Bangladesh
, Bhutan
, India, Maldives
, Nepal
, Pakistan
, Sri Lanka
and Afghanistan
. These countries comprise an area of 5 130 746 km² and a fifth of the population of the world.
SAARC encourages cooperation in agriculture, rural development, science and technology, culture, health, population control, narcotics control and anti-terrorism.
summit. It creates a framework for the creation of a free trade
zone covering 1.6 billion people in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka
, Bangladesh, Bhutan and the Maldives. It came into effect on 1 January 2006.
Table correct as of 9 December 2004 (see http://www.xe.com/ucc/full.shtml for latest)
, particularly that of Russia
, contains a huge variety of metals, such as gold
, iron
, lead
, titanium
, uranium
, and zinc
. These metals are mined, but inefficiently due to continued use of poorly maintained, obsolete machinery left over from the communist era. Nevertheless, profits are high due to a commodity price boom
in 2003/2004 caused largely by increased demand in China. Oil is Southwest Asia's most important natural resource. Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Kuwait are rich in oil reserves and have benefited from recent oil price escalations.
Asia is home to some four billion people, and thus has a well established tradition in agriculture. High productivity in agriculture, especially of rice
, allows high population density of many countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, southern China, Cambodia, India, and Vietnam. Agriculture constitutes a high portion of land usage in warm and humid areas of Asia. Many hillsides are farmed in a terrace method to boost arable land. The main agricultural products in Asia include rice
and wheat
. Opium
is one of major cash crops in Central and Southeast Asia, particularly in Afghanistan, though its production is prohibited everywhere. Forestry is extensive throughout Asia except Southwest and Central Asia, with many of the items of furniture sold in the developed nations made out of Asian timber. Fishing is a major source of food, particularly in Japan.
s to high-tech added value goods such as computer
s, CD players, Games consoles, mobile phone
s and car
s. Major Asian manufacturing companies are mostly based in either South Korea or Japan. They include Samsung
, Hyundai
, LG, and Kia
from South Korea, and Sony
, Toyota, Toshiba
, and Honda
from Japan. Many developed-nation firms from Europe, North America, Japan and South Korea have significant operations in the developing Asia to take advantage of the abundant supply of cheap labor. One of the major employers in manufacturing in Asia is the textile
industry. Much of the world's supply of clothing and footwear now originates in Southeast Asia and South Asia, particularly in Vietnam, China, India, Thailand, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Indonesia.
Asia has seven important financial centers, located in Dubai
, Bangalore
, Mumbai
, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo
. India has been one of the greatest beneficiaries of the economic boom. The country has emerged as one of the world's largest exporters of software and other information technology related services. World class Indian software giants such as Infosys
, Hindustan Computers Limited, Wipro
, Mahindra Satyam and Tata Consultancy Services
have emerged as the world's most sought after service providers. Call centers are also becoming major employers in India and Philippines due to the availability of many well educated English speakers. Here again India holds close to 60% of the trade share. The rise of the Business Process Outsourcing
(BPO) industry has seen the rise of India and China as the other financial centers. Experts believe that the current center of financial activity is moving toward "Chindia
" - a name used for jointly referring to China and India - with Shanghai
and Mumbai
, Bangalore
becoming major financial hubs in their own right. Other growing technological and financial hubs include Dhaka
(Bangladesh), Chennai
(India), New Delhi
(India), Seoul
(South Korea), Pune
(India), Hyderabad (India), Shenzhen
(China), Kolkata
(India), Jakarta
(Indonesia), Kuala Lumpur
(Malaysia), Karachi
(Pakistan), Lahore
(Pakistan), Metro Manila
(Philippines), Cebu
(Philippines) and Bangkok
(Thailand).
GDP
World population
The world population is the total number of living humans on the planet Earth. As of today, it is estimated to be billion by the United States Census Bureau...
) living in 46 different states
Sovereign state
A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...
. Six further states lie partly in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, but are considered to belong to another region economically and politically. China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
is the largest economy in Asia and the second largest economy in the world.
As in all world regions, the wealth of Asia differs widely between, and within, states. This is due to its vast size, meaning a huge range of differing cultures, environments, historical ties and government systems. The largest economies in Asia in terms of both nominal and PPP
Purchasing power parity
In economics, purchasing power parity is a condition between countries where an amount of money has the same purchasing power in different countries. The prices of the goods between the countries would only reflect the exchange rates...
gross domestic product
Gross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
(GDP) are the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
and Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
.
Wealth (if measured by GDP per capita
Per capita
Per capita is a Latin prepositional phrase: per and capita . The phrase thus means "by heads" or "for each head", i.e. per individual or per person...
) is mostly concentrated in east Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
n territories such as Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, as well in oil rich Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
ern countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
, United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
. Asia, with the exception of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, is currently undergoing rapid growth and industrialization spearheaded by China and India - the two fastest growing major economies in the world. While east Asian and southeast Asian countries generally rely on manufacturing and trade for growth, countries in the Middle East depend more on the production of commodities, principally oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
, for economic growth. Over the years, with rapid economic growth and large trade surplus
Balance of trade
The balance of trade is the difference between the monetary value of exports and imports of output in an economy over a certain period. It is the relationship between a nation's imports and exports...
with the rest of the world, Asia has accumulated over US$4 trillion of foreign exchange reserves
Foreign exchange reserves
Foreign-exchange reserves in a strict sense are 'only' the foreign currency deposits and bonds held by central banks and monetary authorities. However, the term in popular usage commonly includes foreign exchange and gold, Special Drawing Rights and International Monetary Fund reserve positions...
- more than half of the world's total.
Ancient and medieval times
ChinaChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
alternated in being the largest economies in the world from 1 to 1800 A.D. China was a major economic power and attracted many to the east, and for many the legendary wealth and prosperity of the ancient culture of India personified Asia, attracting European commerce, exploration and colonialism. The accidental discovery of America by Columbus in search for India demonstrates this deep fascination. The Silk Road
Silk Road
The Silk Road or Silk Route refers to a historical network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa...
became the main East-West trading route in the Asian hitherland while the Straits of Malacca stood as a major sea route.
Pre-1945
Prior to World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, most of Asia was under colonial rule
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
. Only relatively few states managed to remain independent in the face of constant pressure exerted by European power. Such examples are China, Siam, and Japan.
Japan in particular managed to develop its economy due to a reformation in the 19th century. The reformation was comprehensive and is today known as the Meiji Restoration
Meiji Restoration
The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...
. The Japanese economy continued to grow well into the 20th century and its economic growth created various shortages of resources essential to economic growth. As a result the Japanese expansion began with a great part of Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
and China annexed, thus allowing the Japanese to secure strategic resources.
At the same time, Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
was prospering due to trade and the introduction of various new technologies of that time. The volume of trade continued to increase with the opening of the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
in the 1860s. Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
had its gallion
Gallion
Gallion may refer to:*Gallion, Alabama, a community in Hale County, Alabama*Gallion, a type of petpet from Neopets*Gallion, a former genus in the Rubiaceae family...
or Manila galleon
Manila Galleon
The Manila galleons or Manila-Acapulco galleons were Spanish trading ships that sailed once or twice per year across the Pacific Ocean between Manila in the Philippines, and Acapulco, New Spain . The name changed reflecting the city that the ship was sailing from...
wherein products from the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
were traded to Europe. The Philippines was the first Asian country to trade with Latin America via Acapulco
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. Tobacco, coconut, corn, and sugar trade was the most in demand during that time. Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, founded in 1819, rose to prominence as trade between the east and the west increased at an incredible rate. The British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
colony of Malaya
British Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
, now part of Malaysia, was the world's largest producer of tin
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
and rubber
Rubber
Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...
. The Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
, now Indonesia, on the other hand, was known for its spices production. Both the British and the Dutch created their own trading companies to manage their trade flow in Asia. The British created the British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
while the Dutch formed Dutch East India Company
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
. Both companies maintained trade monopolies of their respective colonies.
In 1908, crude oil was first discovered in Persia, modern day Iran. Afterwards, many oil fields were discovered and it was learnt later that the Mideast possesses the world's largest oil stocks. This made the rulers of the Arab nations very rich though the socioeconomic development in that region lagged behind.
In the early 1930s, the world underwent a global economic depression, today known as the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. Asia was not spared, and suffered the same pain as Europe and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The volume of trade decreased dramatically all around Asia and indeed the world. With falling demand, prices of various goods starting to fall and further impoverished locals and foreigners alike. In 1941, Japan invaded Malaya
British Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
and thus began World War II in Asia.
1945-1990
Following World War II, the People's Republic of China and India, which account for half of the population of Asia, adopted socialist policies to promote their domestic economy. These policies limited the economic growth of the region. In contrast, the economies of superiors Japan, South KoreaSouth Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
and the other tigers Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong -- were economic successes, and the only successful economies outside of North America, Western Europe and Australia. The Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
from the post-World War II until the onset of the first People Power Revolution had the second largest economy in Asia. The Philippine economy during the mid-1980s was marked by stagnant growth as a result of political instability and incompetence of the succeeding Corazon Aquino government.
One of the most pronounced Asian economic phenomenons during this time, the Japanese post-war economic miracle
Japanese post-war economic miracle
The Japanese post-war economic miracle is the name given to the historical phenomenon of Japan's record period of economic growth following World War II, spurred mainly by Japanese economic policy, in particular through the Ministry of International Trade and Industry...
, greatly impacted the rest of the world. After World War II, under central guidance from the Japanese government, the entire economy was undergoing a remarkable restructuring. Close cooperation between the government, corporations and banks facilitated easy access to much-needed capital, and large conglomerates known as keiretsu
Keiretsu
A is a set of companies with interlocking business relationships and shareholdings. It is a type of business group. The keiretsu has maintained dominance over the Japanese economy for the greater half of the twentieth century....
spurred horizontal
Horizontal integration
In microeconomics and strategic management, the term horizontal integration describes a type of ownership and control. It is a strategy used by a business or corporation that seeks to sell a type of product in numerous markets...
and vertical integration
Vertical integration
In microeconomics and management, the term vertical integration describes a style of management control. Vertically integrated companies in a supply chain are united through a common owner. Usually each member of the supply chain produces a different product or service, and the products combine to...
across all industries, keeping out foreign competition. These policies, in addition to an abandonment of military spending, worked phenomenally well. Japanese corporations as a result exported and still export massive amounts of high quality products from "the Land of the Rising Sun".
Another amazing economic success story is that of South Korea's, also referred to as the Miracle on the Han River
Miracle on the Han River
Miracle on the Han River refers to South Korea's highly accelerated export-fueled economic growth, including rapid industrialization, technological achievement, education boom, exponential rise in living standards, rapid urbanization, skyscraper boom, modernization, successful hosting of the 1988...
. The country was left impoverished after the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, yet was able to recover at double digit percentiles. Many conglomerates, also known as Chaebols, such as Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
, LG
LG
LG may refer to:*LG Corp., a South Korean electronics and petrochemicals conglomerate*LG Electronics, an affiliate of the South Korean LG Group which produces electronic products* Lawrence Graham, a London headquartered firm of business lawyers...
, Hyundai
Hyundai
Hyundai ) is a global conglomerate company, part of the Korean chaebol, that was founded in South Korea by one of the most famous businessmen in Korean history: Chung Ju-yung...
, Kia
Kia Motors
Kia Motors , headquartered in Seoul, is South Korea's second-largest automobile manufacturer, following the Hyundai Motor Company, with sales of over 1.4 million vehicles in 2010...
, SK
SK
-Slovakia-related Topics:* Slovakia ISO country code* Slovak crown, the former currency of Slovakia* .sk, the internet country code top-level domain for Slovakia* ISO 3166-2:SK, codes for the regions of Slovakia* Slovak language ISO 639 code-Other places:...
, and more grew tremendously during this period. South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
has now become the most wired country in the world.
Taiwan and Hong Kong experienced rapid growth up till the 1990s. Taiwan became, and still remains one of the main centers of consumer electronics R&D as well as manufacturing. However, unlike in Japan and South Korea, the bulk of Taiwan's economy is dependent on small to medium sized businesses. Hong Kong, on the other hand, experienced rapid growth in the financial sector due to liberal market policies, with many financial institutions setting up their Asian headquarters in Hong Kong. Till today, Hong Kong has been ranked as the world's freest economy for many years running, and it remains among one of the world's top 5 leading financial centers.
This period was also marked by military conflict. Wars driven by the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, notably in Vietnam and Afghanistan, wrecked the economies of these respective nations. When the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
collapsed in 1990-91, many Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
n states were cut free and were forced to adapt to pressure for democratic and economic change. Also, several of the USSR's allies lost valuable aid and funding.
1991-2007
After the liberalization of the economy of IndiaEconomy of India
The Economy of India is the ninth largest in the world by nominal GDP and the fourth largest by purchasing power parity . The country is a part of the G-20 major economies and the BRICS, in addition to being partners of the ASEAN. India has a per capita GDP of $3,608 as per 2010 figures, making it...
, the Indian economy coupled with the Chinese economy to power Asia into being one of the hotspots for world trade. The Chinese economy was already booming under the economic measures undertaken by Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping was a Chinese politician, statesman, and diplomat. As leader of the Communist Party of China, Deng was a reformer who led China towards a market economy...
, in the 1980s, and continuing under Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin is a former Chinese politician, who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002, as President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 2003, and as Chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2005...
in the 1990s. In 2007, China's economic growth rate exceeded 11% while India's growth rate increased to around 9%. One of the factors was the sheer size of the population in this region.. Surprisingly, this size of population was considered as biggest reason for lack of growth of economy by both governmetns earlier and both countries have taken strong population control measures to improve their economy.
Meanwhile, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore emerged as the Four Asian Tigers with their GDPs growing well above 7% per year in the 1980s and the 1990s. Their economies were mainly driven by growing exports. The Philippines only began to open up its stagnated economy in the early 1990s. Vietnam's economy began to grow in 1995, shortly after the United States and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
restored economic and political ties.
Throughout the 1990s, the manufacturing ability and cheap labor markets in Asian developing nations allowed companies to establish themselves in many of the industries previously dominated by companies from developed nations. Asia became one of the largest sources of automobiles, machinery, audio equipment and other electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
.
At the end of 1997, Thailand was hit by currency speculators
Speculation
In finance, speculation is a financial action that does not promise safety of the initial investment along with the return on the principal sum...
, and the value of the Baht
Thai baht
The baht is the currency of Thailand. It is subdivided into 100 satang . The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand.-History:The baht, like the pound, originated from a traditional unit of mass...
along with its annual growth rate fell dramatically. Soon after, the crisis spread to Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and many other Asian economies, resulting in great economic damage on the affected countries (Japan largely escaped the crisis). In fact, some of the economies, most notably those of Thailand, Indonesia, and South Korea actually contracted. This later would be known as the Asian financial crisis. By 1999, most countries had already recovered from the crisis.
In 2004, parts of Sumatra and South Asia were severely damaged by an earthquake and the subsequent tsunami
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
. The natural disaster wiped out huge amounts of infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
throughout the affected area and displaced millions.
Future
Asia's large economic disparities are a source of major continuing tension in the region. While global economic powers China, Japan, India, and South Korea continue powering through, and Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, ThailandThailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, and Vietnam have entered the path to long-term growth, regions right next to these countries are in severe need of assistance.
Given the large number cheap and amply available labor in the region, particularly in China and India, where large workforces provide an economical advantage over other countries, the rising standard of living will eventually lead to a slow-down. Asia is also riddled with political problems that threaten not just the economies, but the general stability of the region and world. The nuclear neighbors—Pakistan and India—constantly pose a threat to each other, causing their governments to heavily invest in military spending.
Military intervention by the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan has also inflamed extremism and resulted in several terrorist attacks in a number of Asian countries. Another impending crisis is the depletion of oil reserves
Oil reserves
The total estimated amount of oil in an oil reservoir, including both producible and non-producible oil, is called oil in place. However, because of reservoir characteristics and limitations in petroleum extraction technologies, only a fraction of this oil can be brought to the surface, and it is...
in the Middle East. Most of these economies have traditionally been over-dependent on oil and have had difficulty establishing another pillar in their economies.
Yet another potential global danger posed by the economy of Asia is the growing accumulation of foreign exchange reserves
Foreign exchange reserves
Foreign-exchange reserves in a strict sense are 'only' the foreign currency deposits and bonds held by central banks and monetary authorities. However, the term in popular usage commonly includes foreign exchange and gold, Special Drawing Rights and International Monetary Fund reserve positions...
. The countries/regions with the largest foreign reserves are mostly in Asia - China (Mainland - $2,454 billion & Hong Kong - $245 billion, June 2010), Japan ($1,019 billion, June 2009), Russia ($456 billion, April 2010), India ($284 billion, July 2010), Taiwan ($372 billion, September 2010), the Republic of Korea ($286 billion, July 2010), Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
($206 billion, July 2010). This increasingly means that the interchangeability of the Euro, USD, and GBP are heavily influenced by Asian central banks. Some economists in the western countries see this as a bad thing, prompting their respective governments to take action.
The economies of Asia are expected to be unequally divided for a long period of time. East Asian nations such as economic leaders China, Japan and South Korea will continue to flourish. Japanese products such as Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
and Hitachi
Hitachi, Ltd.
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Marunouchi 1-chome, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company is the parent of the Hitachi Group as part of the larger DKB Group companies...
are commanding premium prices in the western world
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
. South Korean conglomerates Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
and LG
LG
LG may refer to:*LG Corp., a South Korean electronics and petrochemicals conglomerate*LG Electronics, an affiliate of the South Korean LG Group which produces electronic products* Lawrence Graham, a London headquartered firm of business lawyers...
are respectively the second and fifth largest in Asia in terms of annual revenues. These two rivaling countries are expected to be joined by new economic competitors such as China and India. On the other hand, the Middle East and a few parts of South East Asia will be in a state of trouble.
According to the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
, China may become the largest economy in the world sometime between 2020 and 2030.
Asian countries by GDP
This is a list of Asian countries sorted by their 2010 gross domestic productGross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
at market or government official exchange rates (nominal GDP) and PPP map is for year 2010.
2010 Nominal GDP and PPP list by the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
(sortable; in billions of $US)
| Country Country A country is a region legally identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with a previously... or territory |
GDP nominal millions of USD |
GDP PPP millions of USD |
GDP PPP per capita USD |
Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asia Asia Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population... |
18,515 | 24,077 | ||
| 16,631 | 29,616 | 1000 | South Asia South Asia South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east... |
|
| 8,830 | 17,086 | 6,400 | West Asia | |
| 52,166 | 90,074 | 8,634 | West Asia | |
| 21,733 | 29,663 | 37,200 | West Asia | |
| 105,402 | 257,545 | 1,600 | South Asia South Asia South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east... |
|
| 1,397 | 3,785 | 5,600 | South Asia South Asia South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east... |
|
| 11,963 | 19,925 | 51,800 | Southeast Asia Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic... |
|
| 35,646 | 76,240 | 1,197 | Southeast Asia Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic... |
|
| 11,360 | 29,811 | 2,000 | Southeast Asia Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic... |
|
| (PRC) | 5,878,257 | 10,085,708 | 7,518 | East Asia East Asia East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms... |
| 22,752 | 23,017 | 28,381 | West Asia | |
| 616 | 3,062 | 2,600 | Southeast Asia Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic... |
|
| 11,234 | 22,194 | 4,500 | West Asia | |
| 226,485 | 322,486 | 29,826 | East Asia East Asia East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms... |
|
| 1,537,966 | 4,060,392 | 3,417 | South Asia South Asia South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east... |
|
| 706,735 | 1,029,884 | 3,900 | Southeast Asia Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic... |
|
| 337,901 | 818,653 | 11,200 | West Asia | |
| 84,136 | 115,330 | 3,600 | West Asia | |
| 201,254 | 218,490 | 29,500 | West Asia | |
| 5,458,872 | 4,309,432 | 32,817 | East Asia East Asia East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms... |
|
| 27,129 | 34,617 | 5,000 | West Asia | |
| 129,757 | 193,261 | 11,434 | Central Asia Central Asia Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north... |
|
| 28,000 | 40,000 | 1,900 | East Asia East Asia East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms... |
|
| 1,007,084 | 1,459,246 | 30,200 | East Asia East Asia East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms... |
|
| 117,316 | 138,099 | 38,293 | West Asia | |
| 4,444 | 11,772 | 2,162 | Central Asia Central Asia Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north... |
|
| 6,341 | 15,689 | 2,435 | Southeast Asia Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic... |
|
| 39,149 | 59,906 | 15,331 | West Asia | |
| 22,100 | 18,470 | 59,451 | East Asia East Asia East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms... |
|
| 218,950 | 412,302 | 14,603 | Southeast Asia Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic... |
|
| 1,433 | 1,755 | 5,483 | South Asia South Asia South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east... |
|
| 5,807 | 10,252 | 3,727 | East Asia East Asia East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms... |
|
| 15,108 | 35,231 | 1,250 | South Asia South Asia South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east... |
|
| 53,782 | 78,100 | 26,197 | West Asia | |
| 164,792 | 464,711 | 2,789 | South Asia South Asia South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east... |
|
| 8,809 | 14,930 | 2,302 | Southeast Asia Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic... |
|
| 189,061 | 350,279 | 3,725 | Southeast Asia Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic... |
|
| 126,518 | 149,995 | 88,232 | West Asia | |
| 1,465,079 | 2,222,957 | 15,807 | North Asia North Asia North Asia or Northern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the Asian portion of Russia.The Phillips Illustrated Atlas of the World 1988 defines it as being most of the former USSR, the part that is to the east of the Ural Mountains... |
|
| 434,440 | 619,826 | 23,742 | West Asia | |
| 217,377 | 291,712 | 57,238 | Southeast Asia Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic... |
|
| 48,241 | 104,124 | 5,103 | South Asia South Asia South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east... |
|
| 59,633 | 105,324 | 5,108 | West Asia | |
| (ROC) | 426,984 | 810,487 | 34,743 | East Asia East Asia East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms... |
| 5,578 | 14,529 | 1,907 | Central Asia Central Asia Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north... |
|
| 312,605 | 584,768 | 8,643 | Southeast Asia Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic... |
|
| 729,051 | 960,511 | 13,392 | West Asia | |
| 27,960 | 35,883 | 6,597 | Central Asia Central Asia Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north... |
|
| 239,650 | 186,908 | 36,973 | West Asia | |
| 37,724 | 85,363 | 3,022 | Central Asia Central Asia Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north... |
|
| 101,987 | 275,639 | 2,793 | Southeast Asia Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic... |
|
| 30,023 | 63,329 | 2,595 | West Asia |
Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement
The Asia-Pacific Trade AgreementAsia-Pacific Trade Agreement
The , previouslyknown as the and renamed 2 November 2005, was signed in1975. It is the oldest preferential trade agreement between developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region....
(APTA), formerly called the Bangkok Agreement, is the only trade agreement bringing together China and India, in addition to Bangladesh and the Republic of Korea, among others. The Secretariat of the agreement is provided by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). While the agreement covers only a limited number of products, members agreed in 2009 to implement a Trade Facilitation Framework Agreement aimed at streamlining trade procedures between members.
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
The Asia-Pacific Economic CooperationAsia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim countries that seeks to promote free trade and economic cooperation throughout the Asia-Pacific region...
(APEC) is a group of Pacific Rim
Pacific Rim
The Pacific Rim refers to places around the edge of the Pacific Ocean. The term "Pacific Basin" includes the Pacific Rim and islands in the Pacific Ocean...
countries who meet with the purpose of improving economic and political ties. Although the initial intention was to create a free trade area covering all membership (which includes China, the United States and Australia, among others) this has failed to materialize.
Association of Southeast Asian Nations
The Association of Southeast Asian NationsAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated ASEAN rarely ), is a geo-political and economic organization of ten countries located in Southeast Asia, which was formed on 8 August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Since then, membership has...
(ASEAN) is a political, economic, and cultural organization of countries located in Southeast Asia. Founded in 1967, its aim is to foster cooperation and mutual assistance among members. The countries meet annually every November in summits.
The current member countries of ASEAN are Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
(Burma), Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, Thailand, Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Singapore, East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
and Indonesia. Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
is given an observer
Observation
Observation is either an activity of a living being, such as a human, consisting of receiving knowledge of the outside world through the senses, or the recording of data using scientific instruments. The term may also refer to any data collected during this activity...
status.
In 2005 ASEAN was instrumental in establishing the East Asia Summit
East Asia Summit
The East Asia Summit is a forum held annually by leaders of, initially, 16 countries in the East Asian region. Membership will expand to 18 countries including the United States and Russia at the Sixth EAS in 2011. EAS meetings are held after annual ASEAN leaders’ meetings...
(involving all ASEAN members plus China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
) which some have proposed may become in the future a trade bloc, the arrangements for which are far from certain and not yet clear.
The Asian Currency Unit (ACU) is a proposed currency unit for the ASEAN "10+3" economic circle. (ASEAN, the mainland of the People's Republic of China, India, Japan, and South Korea).
Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement
The Closer Economic Partnership ArrangementCloser Economic Partnership Arrangement
Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement are economic and trade agreement between the separate customs territories within the People's Republic of China....
(CEPA) is an economic agreement between the People's Republic of China, the Hong Kong SAR government (signed on 29 June 2003), and the Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
SAR government (signed on 18 October 2003), in order to promote trade and investment facilitation.
The main aims of CEPA are to eliminate tariffs and non-tariff barrier on substantially all the trade in goods between the three, and achieve liberalization of trade in services through reduction or elimination of substantially all discriminatory measures.
Arab League
The Arab LeagueArab League
The Arab League , officially called the League of Arab States , is a regional organisation of Arab states in North and Northeast Africa, and Southwest Asia . It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan , Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a...
is an association of Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
countries in Africa and Asia. The Arab League
Arab League
The Arab League , officially called the League of Arab States , is a regional organisation of Arab states in North and Northeast Africa, and Southwest Asia . It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan , Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a...
facilitates political, economic, cultural, scientific and social programs designed to promote the interests of its member states.
Commonwealth of Independent States
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....
(CIS) is a confederation consisting of 12 of the 15 states of the former Soviet Union, both Asian and European (the exceptions being the three Baltic states
Baltic states
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
). Although the CIS has few supranational powers, it is more than a purely symbolic organization and possesses coordinating powers in the realm of trade, finance, lawmaking and security. The most significant issue for the CIS is the establishment of a full-fledged free trade zone / economic union between the member states, to be launched in 2005. It has also promoted cooperation on democratisation and cross-border crime prevention.
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
The South Asian Association for Regional CooperationSouth Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is an organisation of South Asian nations, founded in December 1985 by Ziaur Rahman and dedicated to economic, technological, social, and cultural development emphasising collective self-reliance. Its seven founding members are Bangladesh,...
(SAARC) is an association of eight countries of South Asia, namely Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
, India, Maldives
Maldives
The Maldives , , officially Republic of Maldives , also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and...
, Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
and Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. These countries comprise an area of 5 130 746 km² and a fifth of the population of the world.
SAARC encourages cooperation in agriculture, rural development, science and technology, culture, health, population control, narcotics control and anti-terrorism.
South Asia Free Trade Agreement
The South Asia Free Trade Agreement is an agreement reached at the 12th South Asian Association for Regional CooperationSouth Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is an organisation of South Asian nations, founded in December 1985 by Ziaur Rahman and dedicated to economic, technological, social, and cultural development emphasising collective self-reliance. Its seven founding members are Bangladesh,...
summit. It creates a framework for the creation of a free trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
zone covering 1.6 billion people in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, Bangladesh, Bhutan and the Maldives. It came into effect on 1 January 2006.
Currency
Below is a list of the currencies of Asia, including all fully Asian states plus Russia, with exchange rates between each currency and both the Euro and US Dollars as of 9 December 2004.| Country | Currency | worth in Euro | worth in USD | Central bank Central bank A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is a public institution that usually issues the currency, regulates the money supply, and controls the interest rates in a country. Central banks often also oversee the commercial banking system of their respective countries... |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afghani Afghan afghani The Afghani is the currency of Afghanistan. It is notionally subdivided into 100 pul , although there are no pul coins in circulation.-Original Afghani :... |
0.0171287 | 0.0228157 | ||
| Bahraini Dinar Bahraini dinar The dinar is the currency of Bahrain. It is divided into 1000 fils . The name dinar derives from the Roman denarius. The dinar was introduced in 1965, replacing the Gulf rupee at a rate of 10 rupees = 1 dinar. The Bahraini dinar is abbreviated .د.ب or BD... |
1.99136 | 2.65957 | Central Bank of Bahrain | |
| Taka | 0.0167723 | Bangladesh Bank Bangladesh Bank Bangladesh Bank is the Central bank of Bangladesh and is a member of the Asian Clearing Union.-History:After the liberation war, and the eventual independence of Bangladesh, the Government of Bangladesh reorganized the Dhaka branch of the State Bank of Pakistan as the central bank of the country,... |
||
| Ngultrum Bhutanese ngultrum The ngultrum has been the currency of Bhutan since 1974. It is subdivided into 100 chhertum .-History:In 1974, the ngultrum was introduced, replacing the rupee at par... |
0.0170095 | 0.0226630 | ||
| Brunei Dollar Brunei dollar The ringgit Brunei or the Brunei dollar , has been the currency of the Sultanate of Brunei since 1967... |
0.455736 | 0.606944 | Brunei Currency and Monetary Board Brunei Currency and Monetary Board The Brunei Currency and Monetary Board is the central bank of the State of Brunei. It was rechartered on February 1, 2004 pursuant to the Currency and Monetary Order of 2004.-History:... |
|
| Riel Cambodian riel For earlier Cambodian currencies, see Cambodian tical and Cambodian franc.The riel is the currency of Cambodia. There have been two distinct riel, the first issued between 1953 and May 1975. Between 1975 and 1980, the country had no monetary system. A second currency, also named "riel", has been... |
0.000305774 | 0.000260068 | National Bank of Cambodia National Bank of Cambodia The National Bank of Cambodia, located in Phnom Penh, is the central bank of Cambodia. The bank's duties include, inter alia, the management of monetary and exchange policies, the regulation of banks and financial institutions, and the control of the national currency, the riel... |
|
|
Renminbi Renminbi The Renminbi is the official currency of the People's Republic of China . Renminbi is legal tender in mainland China, but not in Hong Kong or Macau. It is issued by the People's Bank of China, the monetary authority of the PRC... Hong Kong Dollar Hong Kong dollar The Hong Kong dollar is the currency of the jurisdiction. It is the eighth most traded currency in the world. In English, it is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively HK$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies... Macanese Pataca Macanese pataca The pataca is the currency of Macau. It is subdivided into 100 avos , with 10 avos called ho in Cantonese. The abbreviation MOP$ is commonly used.... |
0.09 0.11 0.11 |
0.12 0.13 0.13 |
People's Bank of China People's Bank of China The People's Bank of China is the central bank of the People's Republic of China with the power to control monetary policy and regulate financial institutions in mainland China... Hong Kong Monetary Authority Hong Kong Monetary Authority The Hong Kong Monetary Authority or HKMA is Hong Kong's central banking institution . It is a government authority founded on 1 April 1993 via the consolidation of "Office of the Exchange Fund" and the "Office of the Commissioner of Banking"... Monetary Authority of Macao Monetary Authority of Macao The Monetary Authority of Macao is a regulatory institution established on December 20, 1999, upon the transfer of the sovereignty of Macau from Portugal to the People's Republic of China as the Macau Special Administrative Region .- History :... |
| New Taiwan Dollar New Taiwan dollar The New Taiwan dollar , or simply Taiwan dollar, is the official currency of the Taiwan Area of the Republic of China since 1949, when it replaced the Old Taiwan dollar... |
0.0233412 | 0.0310945 | Central Bank of the Republic of China | |
| US Dollar | 0.750803 | 1 | ||
| Indian Rupee Indian rupee The Indian rupee is the official currency of the Republic of India. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India.... |
.0175701 | .0253710 | Reserve Bank of India Reserve Bank of India The Reserve Bank of India is the central banking institution of India and controls the monetary policy of the rupee as well as US$300.21 billion of currency reserves. The institution was established on 1 April 1935 during the British Raj in accordance with the provisions of the Reserve Bank of... |
|
| Rupiah Indonesian rupiah The rupiah is the official currency of Indonesia. Issued and controlled by the Bank of Indonesia, the ISO 4217 currency code for the Indonesian rupiah is IDR. Informally, Indonesians also use the word "perak" in referring to rupiah... |
0.0000819210 | 0.000109059 | Bank Indonesia Bank Indonesia Bank Indonesia is the central bank of The Republic of Indonesia. Bank Indonesia is currently governed by Darmin Nasution, former interim governor. The last governor before the interim phase, Boediono, resigned due to his vice presidential candidacy in the Indonesian presidential election... |
|
| Iranian Rial Iranian rial The rial is the currency of Iran. It is subdivided into 100 dinar but, because of the very low current value of the rial, no fraction of the rial is used in accounting.... |
0.0000847274 | 0.000112852 | Central Bank of Iran | |
| Iraqi Dinar Iraqi dinar The dinar is the currency of Iraq. It is issued by the Central Bank of Iraq and is subdivided into 1,000 fils , although inflation has rendered the fils obsolete.-History:... |
0.000513340 | 0.000683737 | Central Bank of Iraq Central Bank of Iraq -History:The Central Bank of Iraq was established as Iraq's central bank by Central Bank of Iraq Law 2004 with authorised capital of 100 billion dinars. The current Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq is Sinan Al Shabibi.-Architecture:... |
|
| Sheqel Israeli new sheqel The Israeli New Shekel is the currency of the State of Israel. The shekel is divided into 100 agorot... |
0.172654 | 0.229975 | Bank of Israel Bank of Israel The Bank of Israel is the central bank of Israel. It is located in Kiryat HaMemshala in Israel's capital city of Jerusalem, with a branch office in Tel Aviv. The current governor is Stanley Fischer.-History:... |
|
| Yen | 0.00718413 | 0.00956539 | Bank of Japan Bank of Japan is the central bank of Japan. The Bank is often called for short. It has its headquarters in Chuo, Tokyo.-History:Like most modern Japanese institutions, the Bank of Japan was founded after the Meiji Restoration... |
|
| Jordanian Dinar Jordanian dinar The dinar is the currency of Jordan. The dinar is divided into 10 dirham, 100 qirsh or 1000 fils.... |
1.06031 | 1.41243 | ||
| Tenge | 0.00576997 | 0.00768610 | National Bank of Kazakhstan National Bank of Kazakhstan -History:The National Bank was formed on April 13, 1993 with the reorganisation of the of the Soviet era Kazakh Republican bank to become the central bank of Kazakhstan.-External links:... |
|
| North Korean Won North Korean won The won is the currency of North Korea . It is subdivided into 100 chon. The won is issued by the Central Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea... |
0.341229 | 0.454545 | ||
| South Korean Won South Korean won The won is the currency of South Korea. A single won is divided into 100 jeon, the monetary subunit. The jeon is no longer used for everyday transactions, and appears only in foreign exchange rates... |
0.000711045 | 0.000947424 | Bank of Korea Bank of Korea The Bank of Korea is the central bank of South Korea and issuer of South Korean won. It was established on June 12, 1950 at Seoul, South Korea.The Bank's primary purpose is price stability. For that, the Bank targets inflation... |
|
| Kuwaiti Dinar Kuwaiti dinar The dinar is the currency of Kuwait. It is sub-divided into 1000 fils. It is the highest-valued currency unit in the world.-History:... |
2.54691 | 3.39425 | Central Bank of Kuwait Central Bank of Kuwait The Central Bank of Kuwait was established in 30 June 1968 to offer a flexible currency system on behalf of the State of Kuwait. The Central Bank is currently building their new building in the Sahrq area.... |
|
| Kyrgyzstani Som Kyrgyzstani som The som is the currency of the Kyrgyz Republic in Central Asia. The ISO 4217 currency code is KGS. The som is sub-divided into 100 tyiyn... |
0.0181059 | 0.0241177 | ||
| Kip Lao kip The kip "Currency Lao Kip") is the currency of Laos since 1952. One kip is divided into 100 att . The official name is: ເງີນກີບລາວ, lit. Other languages say: ; code: LAK; sign: ' or ', encoded .-Free Lao Kip:... |
0.0000692876 | 0.0000922935 | ||
| Lebanese Pound Lebanese pound The Lebanese pound is the currency unit of Lebanon. It is divided into 100 piastres but inflation has eliminated the subdivisions.... |
0.000495695 | 0.000659979 | ||
| Ringgit Ringgit Ringgit mostly refers to the Malaysian ringgit, which is the local currency in Malaysia, but it can also refer to the Brunei dollar or Singapore dollar in the Malay language. The word ringgit was originally used to refer to the serrated edges of Spanish silver dollars widely circulated in the area... |
0.197525 | 0.263219 | Bank Negara Malaysia Bank Negara Malaysia Bank Negara Malaysia is the Malaysian central bank. Established on January 26, 1959 as the Bank Negara Malaya, its main purpose was to issue currency, act as banker and adviser to the Government of Malaysia and regulate the country's credit situation... |
|
| Rufiyah | 0.0637958 | 0.0849618 | ||
| Tugrik | 0.000618514 | 0.000823723 | ||
| Kyat | 0.135242 | 0.180112 | ||
| Nepalese Rupee Nepalese rupee The rupee is the official currency of Nepal. The present rupee has the ISO 4217 code NPR and is normally abbreviated with the sign ₨. It is subdivided into 100 paisa. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Nepal Rastra Bank... |
0.0105153 | 0.0140041 | Nepal Rastra Bank Nepal Rastra Bank The Nepal Rastra Bank , established in 1956, is the central bank of Nepal. It has seven offices, located at Biratnagar, Janakpur, Birgunj, Pokhara, Siddharthanagar, Nepalgunj, and Dhangadhi.... |
|
| Omani Rial Omani rial The rial is the currency of Oman. It is divided into 1000 baisa .-History:Before 1940, the Indian rupee and the Maria Theresa Thaler were the main currencies circulating in Muscat and Oman, as the state was then known, with rupees circulating on the coast and Thaler in the interior... |
1.95241 | 2.60077 | ||
| Pakistani Rupee Pakistani rupee The rupee is the currency of Pakistan. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the State Bank of Pakistan, the central bank of the country. The most commonly used symbol for the rupee is Rs, used on receipts when purchasing goods and services. In Pakistan, the rupee is referred to as the... |
0.0124665 | 0.0166064 | State Bank of Pakistan State Bank of Pakistan The State Bank of Pakistan is the central bank of Pakistan. While its constitution, as originally laid down in the State Bank of Pakistan Order 1948, remained basically unchanged until January 1, 1974, when the bank was nationalized, the scope of its functions was considerably enlarged... |
|
 Palestinian territories |
Sheqel (Israeli) | 0.17 | 0.23 | Bank of Israel Bank of Israel The Bank of Israel is the central bank of Israel. It is located in Kiryat HaMemshala in Israel's capital city of Jerusalem, with a branch office in Tel Aviv. The current governor is Stanley Fischer.-History:... |
| Philippine Peso Philippine peso The peso is the currency of the Philippines. It is subdivided into 100 centavos . Before 1967, the language used on the banknotes and coins was English and so "peso" was the name used... |
0.0133941 | 0.0178531 | Philippine Central Bank Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and commonly abbreviated as BSP is the central bank of the Philippines. It was rechartered on July 3, 1993, pursuant to the provision of the 1987 Philippine Constitution and the New Central Bank Act of 1993... |
|
| Qatari Riyal Qatari riyal The riyal is the currency of the State of Qatar. It is divided into 100 dirham and is abbreviated as either QR or ر.ق .- History :... |
0.206213 | 0.274786 | ||
| Russian Ruble Russian ruble The ruble or rouble is the currency of the Russian Federation and the two partially recognized republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Formerly, the ruble was also the currency of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union prior to their breakups. Belarus and Transnistria also use currencies with... |
0.0267806 | 0.0356723 | Central Bank of the Russian Federation Central Bank of the Russian Federation The Bank of Russia or the Central Bank of The Russian Federation is the central bank of The Russian Federation. Its functions are described in the Russian constitution and in the special Federal law... |
|
| Saudi Riyal Saudi riyal The Riyal is the currency of Saudi Arabia. It is abbreviated as ر.س or SR . It is subdivided into 100 Halalas . The Saudi Ghirsh is 5 Halalas.-History:... |
0.200178 | 0.266660 | ||
| Singapore Dollar Singapore dollar The Singapore dollar or Dollar is the official currency of Singapore. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively S$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies... |
0.455762 | 0.607083 | Monetary Authority of Singapore Monetary Authority of Singapore The Monetary Authority of Singapore is Singapore's central bank and financial regulatory authority... |
|
| Sri Lankan Rupee Sri Lankan rupee The rupee is the currency of Sri Lanka, divided into 100 cents. It is issued by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and is generally written Rs. The rupee (Sinhala: රුපියල , Tamil: ரூபாய்) (sign: ₨; code: LKR) is the currency of Sri Lanka, divided into 100 cents. It is issued by the Central Bank of Sri... |
0.00715451 | 0.00953107 | Central Bank of Sri Lanka Central Bank of Sri Lanka The Central Bank of Sri Lanka is the monetary authority of Sri Lanka. It was established in 1950, two years after independence. The founder governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka was John Exter, while the minister of finance at the time was J.R... |
|
| Syrian Pound Syrian pound -Use of 10 Syrian pound coins in Norway:The shape of the 10 Syrian pound coin has been found to so resemble the 20 Norwegian krone coin that it can fool vending machines, coins-to-cash machines, arcade machines, and any other coin-operated, automated service machine in the country... |
0.0143770 | 0.0191527 | ||
| Tajikistani Somoni Tajikistani somoni For other articles see the TJ disambiguation pageThe somoni is the currency of Tajikistan. It is subdivided into 100 diram . The currency is named after the father of the Tajik nation, Ismail Samani .-History:... |
0.269553 | 0.359066 | ||
| Baht Thai baht The baht is the currency of Thailand. It is subdivided into 100 satang . The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand.-History:The baht, like the pound, originated from a traditional unit of mass... |
0.0189565 | 0.0252245 | Bank of Thailand Bank of Thailand - History :The Bank of Thailand was first set up as the Thai National Banking Bureau. The Bank of Thailand Act was promulgated on 28 April 1942 vesting upon the Bank of Thailand the responsibility for all central banking functions... |
|
| Manat Turkmenistani manat The Manat is the currency of Turkmenistan. It was introduced on November 1, 1993, replacing the Russian ruble at a rate of 1 manat = 500 ruble. The ISO 4217 code is TMM and the manat is subdivided into 100 tennesi... |
0.000144365 | 0.000192306 | ||
| United Arab Emirates dirham United Arab Emirates dirham The dirham is the currency of the United Arab Emirates. The ISO 4217 code for the United Arab Emirates dirham is AED. Unofficial abbreviations include DH or Dhs. The dirham is subdivided into 100 .... |
0.204394 | 0.272301 | Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates is the central bank of the United Arab Emirates.-See also:*Economy of the United Arab Emirates*United Arab Emirates dirham*Mohammad Al Gaz-External links:*... |
|
| Uzbekistani Som Uzbekistani som The som is the currency of Uzbekistan in Central Asia. The ISO 4217 currency code is UZS.-Etymology:In the Soviet Union, speakers of Kazakh, Kyrgyz and Uzbek called the ruble the som, and this name appeared written on the back of banknotes, among the texts for the value of the bill in all 15... |
0.000715188 | 0.000952628 | ||
| Dong Dong Dong may refer to:Asian languages* Vietnamese đồng , the currency unit of Vietnam* Dong people , an ethnic minority group in China* Dong language* Dong Lake, a lake in the Hunan Province of China* Dong quai, a medicinal herb... |
0.0000476064 | 0.0000634115 | ||
| Yemeni Rial Yemeni rial The rial or riyal is the currency of Yemen. It is technically divided into 100 fils, although coins denominated in fils have not been issued since Yemeni unification.-History:... |
0.00409130 | 0.00544959 | ||
Table correct as of 9 December 2004 (see http://www.xe.com/ucc/full.shtml for latest)
Primary sector
Asia is by a considerable margin the largest continent in the world, and is rich in natural resources. The vast expanse of the former Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, particularly that of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, contains a huge variety of metals, such as gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
, iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
, lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
, titanium
Titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver color....
, uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
, and zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
. These metals are mined, but inefficiently due to continued use of poorly maintained, obsolete machinery left over from the communist era. Nevertheless, profits are high due to a commodity price boom
2000s commodities boom
The 2000s commodities boom is the rise in many physical commodity prices which occurred during the decade of the 2000s , following the Great Commodities Depression of the 1980s and 1990s...
in 2003/2004 caused largely by increased demand in China. Oil is Southwest Asia's most important natural resource. Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Kuwait are rich in oil reserves and have benefited from recent oil price escalations.
Asia is home to some four billion people, and thus has a well established tradition in agriculture. High productivity in agriculture, especially of rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, allows high population density of many countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, southern China, Cambodia, India, and Vietnam. Agriculture constitutes a high portion of land usage in warm and humid areas of Asia. Many hillsides are farmed in a terrace method to boost arable land. The main agricultural products in Asia include rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
and wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
. Opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
is one of major cash crops in Central and Southeast Asia, particularly in Afghanistan, though its production is prohibited everywhere. Forestry is extensive throughout Asia except Southwest and Central Asia, with many of the items of furniture sold in the developed nations made out of Asian timber. Fishing is a major source of food, particularly in Japan.
Secondary sector
The manufacturing sector in Asia has traditionally been strongest in the East region - particularly in China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Singapore. The industry varies from manufacturing cheap low value goods such as toyToy
A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...
s to high-tech added value goods such as computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
s, CD players, Games consoles, mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s and car
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
s. Major Asian manufacturing companies are mostly based in either South Korea or Japan. They include Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
, Hyundai
Hyundai
Hyundai ) is a global conglomerate company, part of the Korean chaebol, that was founded in South Korea by one of the most famous businessmen in Korean history: Chung Ju-yung...
, LG, and Kia
Kia Motors
Kia Motors , headquartered in Seoul, is South Korea's second-largest automobile manufacturer, following the Hyundai Motor Company, with sales of over 1.4 million vehicles in 2010...
from South Korea, and Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
, Toyota, Toshiba
Toshiba
is a multinational electronics and electrical equipment corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of electrical products, spanning information & communications equipment and systems, Internet-based solutions and services, electronic components and...
, and Honda
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
from Japan. Many developed-nation firms from Europe, North America, Japan and South Korea have significant operations in the developing Asia to take advantage of the abundant supply of cheap labor. One of the major employers in manufacturing in Asia is the textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
industry. Much of the world's supply of clothing and footwear now originates in Southeast Asia and South Asia, particularly in Vietnam, China, India, Thailand, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Indonesia.
Tertiary sector
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. India has been one of the greatest beneficiaries of the economic boom. The country has emerged as one of the world's largest exporters of software and other information technology related services. World class Indian software giants such as Infosys
Infosys
Infosys Limited, formerly Infosys Technologies Limited is a global technology services company headquartered in Bangalore, India. It is the second largest IT exporter in India with 133,560 employees as of March 2011. It has offices in 33 countries and development centers in India, China,...
, Hindustan Computers Limited, Wipro
Wipro
Wipro Limited formally Western India Products Limited is a global IT services and consulting company headquartered in Bangalore, India. As of 2011, Wipro is the second largest IT services company by turnover in India and employs more than 120,000 people worldwide as of March 2011...
, Mahindra Satyam and Tata Consultancy Services
Tata Consultancy Services
Tata Consultancy Services Limited is a global IT services, business solutions and outsourcing company headquartered in Mumbai, India. It is the largest provider of information technology in Asia and second largest provider of business process outsourcing services in India...
have emerged as the world's most sought after service providers. Call centers are also becoming major employers in India and Philippines due to the availability of many well educated English speakers. Here again India holds close to 60% of the trade share. The rise of the Business Process Outsourcing
Outsourcing
Outsourcing is the process of contracting a business function to someone else.-Overview:The term outsourcing is used inconsistently but usually involves the contracting out of a business function - commonly one previously performed in-house - to an external provider...
(BPO) industry has seen the rise of India and China as the other financial centers. Experts believe that the current center of financial activity is moving toward "Chindia
Chindia
For the landmark in Târgovişte, see Chindia Tower. For a person of mixed Chinese and Indian origin, see Chindian.Chindia is a portmanteau word that refers to China and India together in general. The credit of coining the now popular term goes to Indian Member of Parliament Jairam Ramesh...
" - a name used for jointly referring to China and India - with Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
and Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
becoming major financial hubs in their own right. Other growing technological and financial hubs include Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
(Bangladesh), Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
(India), New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
(India), Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
(South Korea), Pune
Pune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
(India), Hyderabad (India), Shenzhen
Shenzhen
Shenzhen is a major city in the south of Southern China's Guangdong Province, situated immediately north of Hong Kong. The area became China's first—and one of the most successful—Special Economic Zones...
(China), Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
(India), Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
(Indonesia), Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
(Malaysia), Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
(Pakistan), Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
(Pakistan), Metro Manila
Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila , the National Capital Region , or simply Metro Manila, is the metropolitan region encompassing the City of Manila and its surrounding areas in the Philippines...
(Philippines), Cebu
Cebu
Cebu is a province in the Philippines, consisting of Cebu Island and 167 surrounding islands. It is located to the east of Negros, to the west of Leyte and Bohol islands...
(Philippines) and Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
(Thailand).
See also
Overview- AsiaAsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
- History of AsiaHistory of AsiaThe history of Asia can be seen as the collective history of several distinct peripheral coastal regions such as, East Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East linked by the interior mass of the Eurasian steppe....
- Geography of AsiaGeography of AsiaGeography of Asia reviews geographical concepts of classifying Asia, the central and eastern part of Eurasia, comprising approximately fifty countries.-Boundary:...
- Commonwealth of Independent StatesCommonwealth of Independent StatesThe Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....
- World economyWorld economyThe world economy, or global economy, generally refers to the economy, which is based on economies of all of the world's countries, national economies. Also global economy can be seen as the economy of global society and national economies – as economies of local societies, making the global one....
- 1997 Asian Financial Crisis
- Economy of East AsiaEconomy of East AsiaThe economy of East Asia is one of the most successful regional economies of the world. It is home of some of the world's largest and most prosperous economies : China, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea....
GDP
- List of Asian and Pacific countries by GDP (nominal)
- List of Asian and Pacific countries by GDP (PPP)
- List of Asian and Pacific countries by GDP (nominal) per capita
- List of Asian and Pacific countries by GDP (PPP) per capita